It’s well known that stress can cause the disruption or total loss of menstrual function in women. (1) And menstrual dysfunction, along with the physical symptoms of hormone imbalance, has become increasingly common over the past few decades.

It’s now estimated that up to 10 percent of reproductive-age women in the US have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a health condition that not only affects a woman’s fertility, but also causes frustrating changes to her physical appearance, including weight gain, male-pattern hair growth, acne, and water retention.

Women with PCOS also have higher rates of anxiety and depression, either caused or exacerbated by the embarrassing physical changes that often occur with the condition.

And while there certainly is a genetic component that increases one’s risk of the syndrome, PCOS is significantly affected—and possibly caused—by lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, and stress.

Unfortunately, in an age where high achievement and perfectionism are idolized and flat abs and “thigh gaps” are considered to be the standard of feminine physical beauty, there are thousands of women running their bodies and hormones into the ground in an attempt to lose weight and achieve this impossibly high cultural standard.

Sadly, this extreme diet and exercise behavior can backfire when women start to develop “adrenal PCOS”: the elevation of androgenic hormones by the adrenal glands that causes symptoms similar to ovarian cyst-driven PCOS.

In this article, you’ll learn how excessive stress about your diet, exercise, and life in general might be driving the adrenal hormone changes that are causing your PCOS symptoms.

Myths and Truths about PCOS

There are many misconceptions about PCOS that cause confusion, misdiagnosis, and mistreatment in women who are experiencing the multitude of symptoms associated with the disorder.

Despite the name polycystic ovarian syndrome, having cystic ovaries isn’t a requirement to be diagnosed with PCOS.

In fact, the NIH has concluded that the name PCOS should be changed, as the name causes confusion and doesn’t reflect “the complex metabolic, hypothalamic, pituitary, ovarian, and adrenal interactions that characterize the syndrome.” (2, 3)

Many people, including healthcare professionals, also don’t even realize that being overweight is not a requirement of having PCOS. It’s estimated that one-third to one-half of women with PCOS are at normal weight or underweight and that being overweight or obese does not increase the risk of developing the condition.

While weight loss in women who are overweight may be beneficial, this recommendation isn’t useful for women with PCOS symptoms who aren’t overweight. And using birth control pills as a treatment for amenorrhea is often unnecessary and simply masks a deeper diet and lifestyle problem.

Believing that PCOS is solely genetic, due to excess weight, or simply caused by cystic ovaries that can be treated using hormone replacement is a dangerous assumption that prevents many women from getting the help they need.

Elevated Androgenic Hormones: Not Just an Ovarian Problem

One of the primary diagnostic criteria of PCOS is elevated androgens, “male” sex hormones that cause unwanted hair growth, acne, and reproductive dysfunction.

The two main androgenic hormones causing these symptoms in women are testosterone and androstenedione. Other androgens include dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S).

It’s normal for women to have some androgenic hormones in their system; in fact, low testosterone in women is associated with low sex drive, bone loss, chronic fatigue, weight gain, mood disorders, and cognitive issues. Calling them “male” sex hormones is a misnomer.

However, when these hormones are elevated, as is pervasive in PCOS, symptoms of androgen excess begin to manifest. For some women, this affects their menstrual function and fertility. For others, they continue to menstruate but struggle with physical changes like unwanted hair growth, acne, and weight gain.

And one of the primary confusions over PCOS is which organ these androgens come from. While the ovaries are typically blamed for elevated androgens in PCOS, it’s estimated that 20 to 30 percent of women with PCOS have adrenal androgen excess. (5)

The adrenal glands produce all of the DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) and 80 percent of the DHEA in the body. The adrenals also produce 50 percent of androstenedione and 25 percent of circulating testosterone. Since DHEA-S and 11-androstenedione are not secreted by the ovaries, they are used as markers of adrenal androgen secretion. (6)

How Your Adrenals Cause PCOS Symptoms

The chart below shows how both the adrenal glands and the ovaries impact androgenic hormone production. It illustrates how the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, both located in your brain, release hormones that drive the cycle of high androgen output, insulin resistance, increased abdominal fat, and impaired glucose sensitivity. These systems are called the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal or -gonadal axes. (HPA/HPG.)

While insulin resistance and elevated insulin often drive the ovarian production of testosterone, it is the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis that stimulates the production of DHEA/DHEA-S and androstenedione. These hormones can be converted to testosterone by peripheral tissues in the body. This process can occur independently from the ovaries and any involvement with insulin.

This means that a woman with PCOS symptoms could have normally functioning ovaries with no cysts and no insulin resistance, yet still fit the symptomatic profile of the syndrome.

Either way, it’s clear that not only is the brain heavily involved in the output of androgenic hormones, but that the adrenals may also be responsible for PCOS symptoms in a subset of patients.

How Stress Impacts Your Hormones

The pituitary gland, stimulated by the brain via the hypothalamus, secretes adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in response to stress. ACTH then stimulates the adrenal glands to produce cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. In addition to these stress hormones, ACTH also stimulates the production of adrenal androgen hormones, including DHEA, DHEA-S, and androstenedione.

ACTH follows a diurnal rhythm, meaning it’s higher in the morning and lower in the evening, but it also spikes in response to physical and emotional stress. Stress activates the HPA axis, raising ACTH and cortisol output. Cortisol release then down-regulates ACTH production in a negative feedback loop.

ACTH also stimulates the production of DHEA/DHEA-S and androstenedione, which help protect the brain from the negative effects of cortisol and other stress hormones. (7) But as you learned earlier, these hormones also cause the symptoms of elevated androgens seen in PCOS.

And these androgenic hormones do not affect the release of ACTH, unlike cortisol, meaning there is no feedback regulatory loop that controls androgen secretion in women. (8)

Research also shows that women who are under extreme chronic stress situations (for example, PTSD) have a markedly increased DHEA response to ACTH stimulation, as well as a higher ACTH response to stress and stimulation from the hypothalamic hormones. (9) They also have higher levels of baseline DHEA compared to healthy controls, and traumatized women with the highest DHEA had the least severe PTSD symptoms.

This means that women who are under chronic stress not only have more opportunities for elevated ACTH and thus elevated androgens, but their hormones may also start to react more severely to stressful situations. It also suggests that a higher amount of DHEA could be the body’s way of protecting the brain from the long-term effects of chronic stress.

The adrenal glands are responsible for at least 20 to 30 percent of the elevated androgens seen in PCOS

Chronic stress elevates ACTH, which stimulates androgen secretion, for which there is no negative feedback loop

Androgen hormones are protective against the long-term effects of chronically elevated stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline

I hope it’s perfectly clear by now that chronic stress is a major contributor to the development of PCOS symptoms, especially in normal or underweight women with non-cystic ovaries and normal insulin sensitivity.

Elevated androgens, while causing PCOS symptoms, may be the body’s way of protecting the brain from the harmful effects of chronic stress.

And chronic stress is everywhere these days; from long work weeks and poor sleep to new babies and aging parents, to constant negative thoughts about our bodies and physical appearance, women are bombarded by stress from every direction.

The worst part is that the more stress drives up our androgenic hormones, the more our weight, skin, and hair growth is affected, and the harder we struggle to improve our appearance.

For some women, this drives them to restrict their diet further, diet harder, work out more often and more intensely, and push their bodies to the brink of exhaustion. It’s a vicious cycle that I see all the time in my practice. (I’ve even struggled with this problem myself.)

Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of women whose PCOS is caused by a poor diet, inadequate exercise, too many refined carbohydrates and sugars, and a generally unhealthy lifestyle.

But if you’re breaking your back trying to follow the perfect low-carb Paleo diet, going to CrossFit five to six days per week, and finding yourself gaining weight, losing your menstrual function, growing hair in weird places, developing adult acne when you had clear skin as a teen, or simply feeling like a truck hit you every morning you wake up, it may be chronic stress causing your physical symptoms and hormonal imbalances.

How to Kick Stress to the Curb

Getting your stress under control is a challenging task, and unfortunately, there’s no quick fix for the long-term effects of regular stress. Our culture thrives on stress and perfectionism, and many people push themselves past their physical limits in an attempt to “look better naked,” make more money, have more possessions, and live an envy-worthy life that looks great on Instagram.

If you’re ready to break the cycle of stress and fear-based health pursuits, here are a few tips to get you started in the right direction.

Diet

As I explained before, many conventional recommendations for PCOS involve losing weight and increasing insulin sensitivity, primarily through reducing carbohydrate intake, cutting calories, and increasing physical activity. These recommendations work well for the woman eating a typical American diet and not moving enough.

But if you’re already eating a low-carbohydrate Paleo diet and your symptoms are getting worse instead of better, you might be a woman whose body is responding negatively to the stress of inadequate calorie and carbohydrate intake.

First, start by assessing your total calorie intake. One benefit of a Paleo diet is a spontaneous reduction in calorie intake, but for women who are active, this can take their intake too low to support their exercise routine. Combine this with poor body image and a desire to lose body fat, and many women are taking their food intake even lower, either consciously or unconsciously.

Chronic calorie deficits over a period of months or years raise stress hormones as your body tries to conserve energy and keep blood sugar stable. Make sure you are not eating less than 80 percent of your estimated calorie needs on a daily basis if you are trying to lose weight, and consider taking a break from any calorie deficit for a few weeks or months.

Too little carbohydrate intake can have similar impacts as inadequate calories, especially for highly active women doing glucose-demanding activities like weightlifting and CrossFit. Use this article to guide your carbohydrate intake depending on your health needs and activity levels.

Exercise

Again, the typical recommendation for a woman with PCOS is to exercise more. But if you’re already hitting the CrossFit box five days a week, running 20 miles a week, or squeezing bootcamp classes in at 5:30 a.m. every morning, you might be damaging your hormones by exercising too much.

Overtraining is more of a symptom of under-recovery, so eating and sleeping enough and taking at least one to two rest days per week can help minimize the impact of a high training volume and prevent hormonal disruption.

If you’re concerned that overexercising is driving your hormonal imbalances, check out this article on exercising with “adrenal fatigue” (HPA axis dysfunction) for guidelines on how to appropriately scale back your exercise so that you’re maintaining strength and fitness while allowing your hormones to recover.

Sleep

Admittedly, sleep is one of those health behaviors that I still struggle to prioritize. And yet the benefits to my energy, performance, and cognitive function I experience when I get adequate, high-quality sleep are undeniable.

One of the most common factors impacting our ability to sleep well is our use of electronic devices after the sun has gone down. Check out the guidelines in this article for ideas on how to mitigate the effects of light exposure at night so that your sleep is more restorative.

And if you’re having trouble falling or staying asleep, review your diet and exercise program. Many of my clients with sleep difficulties find that stopping any excessive high-intensity exercise and eating adequate calories and carbohydrates help them sleep far more soundly and wake up feeling refreshed.

Stress management

There are dozens of different techniques that can help reduce stress on a daily basis. Some of the more well-known recommendations include things like meditation, deep breathing, yoga, and tai chi. These ancient practices are effective tools that reduce stress hormones, and meditation in particular is one that can easily be done daily.

However, there are countless other options for reducing stress, so pick one that works best for your personality and your life. That might mean you get a pet like a dog or a cat, start volunteering regularly, join a spiritual/religious community like a church or synagogue, join a meetup group, or even start coloring! (I love these coloring books!)

Whatever your stress management practice is, commit to doing it regularly. Meditation isn’t going to help you reduce stress if you only do it once a week, and a coloring book sitting on your bookshelf gathering dust isn’t going to magically cut your cortisol down.

Mindset

Changing your mindset is often the hardest part of stress reduction, but possibly the most important. There are a lot of mindset issues that women deal with, but one of the most common mindset issues I see in the women I work with is poor body image.

Research shows that women with the lowest body image also have the highest levels of cortisol. (10) Any woman who has struggled with poor self-image and body dysmorphia knows what it feels like to have negative thoughts and emotions every time you catch your reflection in the mirror.

Building better body confidence is a challenging process, and it doesn’t happen overnight. But if you are struggling with negative thoughts about your body, constant dissatisfaction with your appearance, and poor mood that is worsened whenever you break your rigid diet and exercise routine, you may be sabotaging yourself by causing the very problems you feel negatively about, including weight gain, hair growth, and problematic skin!

Start by shifting your focus to all the things you are grateful for in your life. This could be something as simple as the fact that you have running water in your house, or as significant as having a loving partner or children that you adore.

Celebrate the success that you’ve had in your healthy eating and exercise goals, and don’t be so hard on yourself for the areas where you’ve fallen short. Everybody fails, so look at failure as a learning experience and opportunity for growth.

Stop following anyone on social media who makes you feel worse about your body or your life. Surround yourself with friends and role models who promote self-acceptance and self-love, regardless of what they look like right now.

Find people who inspire you to shift your focus to the positive things in your life, including what your body is capable of rather than what it looks like. Self-acceptance is a practice, and it requires committed effort to shift your mindset from one of self-loathing to self-love.

If You Need More Help …

There’s no way a single article will be enough for you to make a 180-degree turn in your life and start living totally stress-free. This will be a lifelong process that you need to commit to on a daily basis in order to see lasting changes in your hormonal health and wellbeing.

If you’ve already implemented the recommendations I’ve mentioned above and are still struggling, there are a few ways you can get additional help.

Chris’ 14Four program is a fantastic, holistic approach to a healthy diet and lifestyle that eliminates extremes and focuses not only on diet and exercise, but also stress and sleep. This is a great basic program for resetting your approach to a healthy, low-stress lifestyle.

If you’re concerned that your HPA axis dysfunction is more serious than the average person, you’d be a great candidate for Paleo Rehab: Adrenal Fatigue, a program that will guide you through the diet, lifestyle, and supplement changes that can help you eliminate stress and support your body’s ability to respond to stress appropriately. Check out our free 28-page eBook to get started on repairing your HPA axis function.

Finally, if you are desperate to make major changes in the way you live your life, including the way you eat, the way you exercise, and the way you treat your body, and you want to experience the benefits of working one-on-one with a coach dedicated to your health and success, consider becoming one of my clients.

I love helping women just like you make evidence-based changes to their nutrition and fitness plans that not only help them reach their goals, but also eliminate the stress, confusion, and fear that comes with trying to do it alone.

Now I’d like to hear from you: Have you experienced hormonal problems or PCOS symptoms after a period of extreme stress? Has dealing with the stress in your life helped you overcome these challenges? Share your story below!

About Laura: Laura uses her knowledge of traditional and biologically appropriate diets to improve her clients’ health. Growing up with a family that practices Weston A. Price principles of nutrition, she understands the foods and cooking practices that make up a nutrient dense diet.

With her strong educational background in biochemistry, clinical nutrition, and research translation, she blends current scientific evidence with traditional food practices to help her clients determine their ideal diet. You can find her at AncestralizeMe.com, on Facebook, and Twitter!

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52 Comments

Hi Laura, I’ve had HA for almost 5 years now. It started after a stressful 4 months of writing my final dissertation at uni and not eating much. I fell in love with my slimmer frame after finishing university and started maintaining this frame via exercise and diet (bmi 17.5) this increased to 18-19 and now with a healthier diet (80% plant based paleo 20% non paleo and fish) and weight training I am Now bmi 20-21. Still not sign of my cycle. I am getting cervical mucus and have seen gynaecologists who suggest my blood indicates a levelling out now and say it’s a matter of time. However I’ve felt this way before and nothing has come of it. My negative body image doesn’t help this situation as I am often tempted to diet and lose weight but the only thing pushing me away from that is the desire to fall pregnant soon. What would you suggest I do to check that I am on the right path to recovering my cycle. Jodie X

Hi. thank you for this useful information. but i have a question. you did not mention the 17-OH-progestron and its relationship with stress.

I have recently had some problems with my blood test, I dont have PCOS, I dont have clinical symptoms (including hirsutism or acne… my cycles were irregular for just two months (39 days and 49 days) but my doctor said that’s not a problem). everything was normal, but in my blood test there were some abnormalities:

I have read that it’s possible for a baby to be born with adrenal fatigue/insulin resistance passed from it’s mother -either from stress hormone overloads or high insulin overloads in the mother. Does anyone know anything about this -any research going on? My daughter was born with real anxiety -I’m sure as a result of my anxiety in the first trimester and she drank and then eat – seemingly for comfort -for all of her childhood. She could NEVER relax on her own. She is now 16 with PCOS and adrenal fatigue. We are ever trying to keep her from putting on weight and improve her acne and scarring. and reduce stress but a motivated teenager’s life cannot be seen as ‘successful’ without non-stop action!This article is wonderful -thank you -what other links are there on this topic??

this article has been a reminder of things that I already knew but couldn’t figure out when I had a recent & sudden onset of adult acne and mild hirsutism. and trust me these things affected more because I am a practicing dermatologist. I was eating right, exercising and doing yoga 4-5 days a week and still having PCOS like symptoms with normal scans and reports.. But I did had mild elevations of prolactin and DHEAS … My cycles were regular but more painful every time. That made me look back at my life in last 1 year.. hell amount of stress in work and family, restricted caloric intake especially if I was not able to exercise a few days and continuos fretting on issues small and large.. It was stress and purely stress that sent my system into tizzy. I had exactly what you mentioned as “Adrenal PCOS” … thankfully I am headed to recovery now and following the things more or less similar to what you mentioned… Great work…

This is a great article! I am trying to heal my PCOS and non autoimmune hypothyroidism naturally because I am trying to conceive. And I really think that stress is a major factor for me. I am also planning to test for insulin sensitivity because I have regular 28-30 days periods only when I eat under 100 grams of carbs. Unfortunately when I am stressed I got awful sugar cravings. I feel great on a low carb diet in general but I can’t sleep well and this causes even more stress. So I am going to try to increase my carb tolerance with inositol, chrome and eating more starch rather than fruits. It would be nice to get more ideas how I can do this. I am currently eating 80-150 grams carbs and my BMI is 19. I feel like this is some vicious cycle. If I eat less carbs I feel great but can’t deal with stress and probably my thyroid is becoming sluggish. If I eat more I have absolutely no energy, very long anovulatory cycles, neck pains and my depression gets even worse. I am sensitive to many foods grains, veggies, nuts… Probably this is part of my problem too.

Finally something that describes me. Most PCOS patients cant’ just get up and run 12 miles at a moments notice, and I doubt they had my resting heart rate of 48. By the time I was 26 I had had enough with the hair-growth, and I demanded a prescription for spirolactone. I had to get a non-hormonal IUD to get it, but I got it. Spiro, which is the DHEA suppressant I think, made my periods normal for the first time in my life. Now I’m trying to get pregnant and because you can’t take spiro and try to get to pregnant I’m up the creek without a paddle.

I have irregular cycle since they have started, now I don’t have my periods at all only withdrawal bleeding with medication. I am trying to figure out which kind of pcos I have. I had insulin resistance for which I am taking metformin and is under control now. I take care of diet and work out five days a wer reduced 8 kilos but stuck there. Inspite of doing so much I have no periods. I have had two ivf with four frozen embryo transfers. One was a failure, two were chemical pregnancies and one was a miscarriage at 7 weeks.now not able decide what to do next

I have PCOS but have been athletic all my life. I was not diagnosed when I was younger because I wasn’t overweight even though I could go 6 months with no period. I eat a very healthy diet, drink lots of water, lift weights and do cardio a few times a week. I’m careful not to overtrain, planning my workouts for optimal long term health and muscle growth. Nothing has helped. Overall I am the healthiest person I know but nothing has eased the symptoms of my PCOS. I just don’t believe that a healthy diet and exercise has any affect on the condition.

I am in the same boat as you are. I always say I am the “healthiest person I know” and nothing changes. It is very frustrating and I am so tired of doctors telling me I dont fit the mold of someone with PCOS. I just want to get my body back on track. Any suggestions?

This article definitely fits the criteria that I’m currently going through now I’m just unsure on how to combat it. I’m 21 and since high school I had been over exercising daily and under eating severely. I didn’t get extremely thin nor do I really think I had an eating disorder but I just wanted to be confident and thin. Which never seemed to quite happen any way but I weened myself off of restricting to that extent. Also because back then my hormones were post menopausal at the age of 16. Fast forward I still continued to over exercise and as I got older I became more stressed living on my own I was thin but normal weight actually liked my weight back then although I started losing my hair and became very fatigued. Last year after contracting CMV it was like my body had shut down and I was insanely fatigued for a year I still don’t feel the same but have made improvements. I don’t feel as though I look healthy bags under my eyes and I’m losing hair, gained weight with no change in diet, and getting some acne which I never used to get. My testosterone is 53 out of 45 now. I still continue to exercise but I don’t have enough energy as I used to. I don’t really have a libido either and I find myself more aggressive as I was quite shy before I don’t feel like myself. I’m not sure how to combat this most drs won’t take into my account of excessive exercise and restriction and just believe I have pcos when I know for a fact I did this to myself. I’m not for taking medications though and I’m looking to go a holistic approach. Any advice would be appreciated

THIS HITS RIGHT ON THE NAIL. I am 19 years old and believe in treating holistically. I was currently diagnosed with pcos because I have elevated testosterone but refused to treat it throught them and have looked for my own cures. First of all I am normal weight, not insulin resistant, my ovaries are fine, and I have the cleanest diet ever. I eat organic diet with no hormones, dairy, gluten. And I still had acne and pcos. I couldn’t figure out why it was happening to me until I realised it’s because of golf. I was working towards become a professional athlete ever since I was 10 5 days a week for 9 years. And I realised I have pcos because of my stressful schedule. I AM BURNED OUT. So I just quit. I stopped doing what stresses me out and I said of I begin to feel better than I can go back but in a more moderate schedule but right now I’m done. I’d rather be happy than live a stressful life because of golf. It’s only been 4 days and my body feels as if it is already healing. My stress levels are down. If you have pcos make sure you take in your stress factors.

I have experienced severe anxiety after starting the peri-menopausal roller coaster, the first missed periods coincided with feelings of dread, anxiety, fear. Previously I had many ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids – more links. I have H.Pylori that is resistant to antibiotics, this has also flared up after being stable for many years. I am healthy and fit but this last 2 years has been hell.

have been told I have pcos but am healthy weight but suffer terrible stress and just recovered from anorexia. I honestly think I miss a period sometimes when I am too stressed. Yet the doctor said stress wouldn’t cause it or my eating disorder. He gave me no advice or why I have it. I don’t have cysts or insulin resistance. I think I just sometimes miss my period due to anxiety and stress and eating issues. This info u have provided has made me more positive after a day of crying thinking i had pcos and would gain weight ,grow hair etc.Do you think that stress could be the cause of missing a period and hormone imbalance for my case? Thank you so much for calming me down after having such a horrible appointment.

I was diagnosed with PCOS, regular menstrual cycle, infertility, higher than normal testosterone, facial hair, significant weight gain, no cysts. According to the fertility dr, I ovulate regularly, also. At my heaviest, 2 years ago, I weighed 320. The problem with military Drs,(mostly, I don’t want to categorize ALL of them), is they blamed it on my weight. Immediately, they recommended weight loss surgery. I decided against it, and started on my weight loss journey. Now, I weigh 200, but have been stuck here for a year. I’m still having fertility issues, but this article made me wonder if it was an adrenal gland issue mimicking PCOS. Thanks for the information. I can now ask my doctor to look for everything, instead of visually diagnosing PCOS.

I also have PCOS. I have been to traditional medical doctors who could only offer pills to make me feel better. Majority of them did not even want to draw blood because I was a healthy weight and did not see it as necessary. I decided to look for a holistic option. I wanted to understand why my body was producing an excess of testosterone. Through a lot of research I found Functional Medicine. For the first time I found a doctor who wanted to do bloodwork. They seek to find the source of your problem. I am still in the process of testing, so I can’t claim success yet, but I am hopeful. Here is a link to an article my doctor wrote on the subject: http://www.darrellkilcupdc.com/2014/10/a-cause-of-pcos-and-its-cure/